It’s been a few weeks since I checked in with my training or current fitness levels. I’m happy to say that I’ve been lightly running and even raced a few local 5ks. I’ve enjoyed every run and I’m looking forward to adding races on my calendar. Speaking of which, I already have three that I’ve registered for within the next few weeks.

Up next I have a local 5k, and two half marathons…..Wait, what? Two half marathons in the next six weeks, without a full training plan? Yep! But to be honest, these are more like training runs and helping me to keep my fitness levels up for 2016. So let’s catch up and take a look at this week’s runs.

Monday: 3.1 Miles + Abs + Kettle bell

Tuesday: 4 Miles, 1 Mile w/u, 3×800 with 400 recovery, 1 Mile c/d + Abs

Wednesday: 0

Thursday: 0

Friday: 0

Saturday: 10 Miles

Sunday: 3.5 Miles + Abs

Total Miles: 20.6 Miles

Monday was the perfect day to run. With the sun setting sooner each day, I knew this would be one of the last after work runs I could get in on the back roads. So I did a nice recovery run from the previous day’s long run. I felt great and even pushed myself a bit on the hills. I kept it short because I started to run out of daylight, and I didn’t have my headlamp with me. I followed up the run with abs and a kettle bell workout I found on Pinterest.

Tuesday I jumped on the treadmill and did my first speed workout in months. It was a bit rough, mostly because I’m still a little out of shape, but also because of a nasty cold. I kept it light at three 800 repeats, but will work my way up and most likely switch between 800 and mile repeats over the next few months. I followed this workout with more abs, and missing swimsuit season.

Wednesday-Friday were rest days. I’m more relaxed about training now, so it was nice to catch up with friends in the middle of the week, as well as give my body some time to hopefully get over the cold that latched on.

Saturday was my longest run since July and the confidence booster I needed. I’ve been doing some 6 and 8 mile runs, but if I could get to 10, I knew I could swing a few half marathons. The weather was a bit chilly at about 35 degrees, but I welcomed it with open arms. We had a small group and started at Buckeye Woods, running the marsh loop, trail and then coming out the back side. From there we made a large loop past the inlet and up to the rail trail, and back to the entrance of Buckeye Woods.

Our pace was pretty consistent and stayed around 9:15/9:20. It dipped into the 10’s during the trail section, which was expected. The average pace was 9:33 and my strongest run in quite a while. I took a Honey Stinger chew at mile 7, but probably could have used it at 6. I honestly felt great during this run, and managed to get down to 8:55 pace for almost the last mile and a half. I know long runs can’t all be great, but this was exactly what I needed to keep me on track.

Sunday morning I had meant to get up early and join a group run, but after tossing and turning all night with achy legs and hips, I decided to sleep in and run later on in the day. It ended up being the right choice because on my afternoon run through the neighborhood I felt like I was floating! I ran a nice little loop and turned down some streets I haven’t been on for over a year. Maybe it was the refreshing new route or the cooler weather, but I was able to dip down to sub 9 and bounced back and forth between 8:55 and 8:20 pace. I based my run off how I felt, instead of pace, and apparently my legs were feeling great!

This week was the best week training wise that I’ve had in quite some time. I got all my workouts in and I ran faster than I thought I would at this point. I’m certainly not close to any PR’s, but I’m enjoying running and gearing up for what will be a great and race filled 2016!